Bill to cut NPR funding fails

A measure to cut federal funding for National Public Radio (NPR) was defeated last week in the U.S. House by a 239-171 margin.

“While National Public Radio … has been a source of controversy as of late, it has always been a drain on taxpayer dollars,” U.S. Rep. Tom Graves, R-Ga., said in a statement. “As it stands today, NPR annually receives up to $100 million through direct and indirect federal funds from federal agencies like the Corporation of Public Broadcasting and the National Endowment for the Arts. Yet, incredibly, NPR’s website claims, ‘We receive no direct federal funding for operations.’”

NPR has been under fire since firing news analyst Juan Williams over remarks he made about Muslims. Williams has since been given a new contract with Fox News Channel.

“In light of Juan Williams’ recent firing, it is hard to see how anyone can claim that NPR does not have a liberal bias,” U.S. Rep. Tom Price, R-Ga., said in a news release. “While the network has the right to present whatever point of view its executives wish, taxpayers should not be forced to subsidize it.

“Without taxpayer funding, NPR will simply compete for listeners on a level playing field, just like any other media organization,” Price added. “Democrats may have defeated our money-saving effort today, but the incoming Republican majority will continue to do the people’s work and push for common sense spending cuts.”